The beef trade started off another steady week, with agents still very active for cattle.

Bullocks continue to work off a base price of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with the higher end of quotes being reserved for regular customers and those with numbers. Heifers are also unchanged this week, with a range of base quotes from €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg available. Breed bonuses are accessible on top of these base prices for in-spec cattle, with 20c/kg available at the moment for both Aberdeen Angus cattle and Hereford cattle at most processors.

Cow trade

The cow trade is also steady, with R-grading cows being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg. U-grading cows are still trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, while O-grading cows are being bought for €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg. P+3 cows are back a little further, with some factories trying to purchase P+3 cows at €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg. Factory agents have been back paying some exceptional prices for well-fleshed, heavy cows, with up to €4.60/kg liveweight being paid for some cows in marts this week.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R-grading bulls still coming in at €7.25/kg and U-grading bulls at €7.40/kg. Specialised bull finishers have been able to squeeze a little more out of some processors. Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.

The mart trade has heated up in recent days. Weanlings and forward store cattle were in exceptional demand at a number of marts over the bank holiday weekend, with top-quality weanlings regularly hitting €6.50/kg and over at several marts.